Harvard Bound
by dramaqueen88
Summary: Rory chose to go to Harvard instead of Yale. What will college life have in store for her?
1. Getting There

Title: Harvard Bound

Summary: Rory chose to go to Harvard instead of Yale. What will college life have in store for her?

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or anything to do with it, or Harvard.

A/N: Although I'm glad Rory did go to Yale in the show, I always feel a bit cheated watching the older seasons when Rory goes on and on about Harvard (especially when they visit there in season 2). So I decided to write about what it would be like if Rory had gone to Harvard, and see if things would have gone differently. In terms of timeline, everything that has happened in seasons 1-3 (apart from the college decision) is correct. Also, everything that happens in Season 4 happens in this fic too, unless the event is specifically linkde to Rory's being at Yale (i.e. Paris, Marty etc). Got the drift? Oh yeah, the italics represent a flashback/past event. Enjoy!!!

* * *

Chapter One: **Getting There**

* * *

"Five in the morning! What normal person is awake at that time?" Lorelai Gilmore ranted, one hand on the steering wheel, the other sipping a coffee.

"Luke?" Rory pointed out, squinting at a map.

"Yeah, but he doesn't count. He's a genre unto himself, you just need to look at all the flannel to prove that."

"You should probably be nicer to Luke seeing how he let us borrow his truck."

"Yeah yeah" Lorelai rolled her eyes.

"Anyway we had to leave at this time. To get there early and to avoid spending the night at that B&B we went to last time."

"Ooh, that's right! 'The Cheshire Cat', what sort of a name is that? Sounds like something Walt Disney puked out. And all those flowers! What sort of insane psychopathic person would decorate the room so you feel like a Laura Ashley dress? That's it, she's a psychopathic killer! This does not bode well for your fate at Harvard, maybe the gods are trying to tell us something. I shouldn't have let you be so smart, I should have made you go to Hartford Community College. That way Mommy would be able to protect you in case the crazy flower lady came after you. OK, we are turning the car around."

"Mom, stop! The crazy flower lady is not a killer. And I'm going to Harvard."

Lorelai looked over to her and smiled. "Yeah babe, you are. You're going to Harvard."

* * *

_They sat in Luke's eating burgers, sheaves of paper covering the table. _

_"Harvard has the biggest academic library in the world." Lorelai murmured, flicking through the prospectus._

_"That's a definite pro" Rory said brightly. "Maybe I should put that in big letters." _

"_Ok. And Princeton has seven coffee shops on campus." _

_"Seven? You looked it up?" Rory asked her mother in disbelief._

"_Hey, you don't want to go to a school and then find it has only one coffee place which is waaaaay over the other side of the campus, so that when you get there you'll be so tired that you can barely even drink your coffee. And then you'll be late for class."_

_"I highly doubt that is ever going to happen. Good point though, I'll add it to the pro side."_

_An hour – and two coffees – later they gathered up the lists and surveyed them. _

_"Remember, these aren't the official pro – con lists." Lorelai reminded Rory. "Huh. Yale has way more pros than the other two. And hardly any cons." She looked over at Rory seriously. "Yale. It has to be –"_

_"- Harvard." Rory interrupted. "It has to be Harvard."_

"_No honey, it doesn't have to be. I know we've been talking about it forever but that doesn't mean anything. You can see the list, Yale is a great school. It's the school."_

_"No Mom. Harvard is the school. I've been wanting to go there since I was little and I know that Yale comes out top but those are just lists right? In the end they can't make my decision for me, only I can. Harvard, it has to be Harvard."_

_Lorelai paused, scrutinising her daughter's words and emotions. "Ok Hon, if you're sure…"_

_"I am. I've never been more sure of anything in my life."_

"_Ok then. Harvard it is."_

_"How will I…?" Rory bit her lip and looked down at her plate. "How will I tell Grandma and Grandpa?" _

_"Don't worry about them. They'll use the disappointment as a way of criticising me and my life even more, but by the time you're college graduation rolls around they will be really proud that you went to Harvard." _

_"I don't want to disappoint them. I know how much Yale means to them, especially to Grandpa, but –"_

_"Hey, you don't have to explain this to them. This is your future, no one can tell you where to go. Not my parents, not Jess or Lane, not even me. You have to decide this for yourself. And if Harvard is where you're choosing to go, then don't let anyone make you feel bad for that choice." _

_"Thanks Mom." Rory leaned over and hugged her. "Wow, I can't believe I've just made a life-altering decision in just over an hour."_

_"I know. This calls for doughnuts!" _

* * *

"Oh my God, there it is!" Rory shrieked, nearly spilling the contents of her bag of M&M's. "It looks even better than last time. Doesn't it look better?"

"Yeah, it does." Lorelai smiled, pulling the truck over.

A pretty student advisor met them, and gave them the key and directions to Rory's room.

"I don't believe it" Rory exclaimed excitedly as they entered Hollis Hall.

"I know! I'm psychic, I can read the future! I shouldn't be opening my own inn, I should have my own psychic hotline." Lorelai gabbled as Rory pulled her inside the dorm. "I could call myself 'Madame Le Tourniquet' but say it in a French accent so it sounds better, and wear a turban and a kaftan."

"I am so going to call you twice a day to make sure you won't do that." Rory groaned.

Lorelai beamed. "I might just have to, so you call me more. If I buy the outfit I could even make you drop out of college. Oh, suite 24, I think this is yours."

The common room in Rory's suite was a clean, medium - sized room on the third floor already filled with packing boxes. The window looked out onto a green, tree – lined area situated between her dorm and another building further away. There were two doors which led to the shared bedrooms. Lorelai opened one and Rory the other, they were almost exactly the same inside except that one had the same view as the common room which they claimed as Rory's. There were two desks, two chest of drawers and a few shelves built along the walls above the desks. Lorelai dumped the box she was carrying onto the bed on the right – hand side of the room and collapsed onto it as well.

"Shouldn't I wait for my roommates to arrive before we allocate beds and rooms?" Rory asked, pulling out her campus map.

"No way, you got here first and that automatically entitles you to the first pick of the bed. You get this one. It's further away from the door but closer to a desk so you have minimum distraction while you're being a genius. Ok, you start unpacking while I'll grab the rest of the stuff."

She disappeared and Rory wandered back into the common room, marvelling at her suite, her hall, Harvard. She couldn't believe she was here. Everything she had dreamed about her entire life had finally come true. There was a slight knock and scuffling outside the door and a girl came into the room with two large bin bags. "Hi!" she smiled. "I guess you must be one of my roommates. I'm Star" She had long wavy blonde hair that with small plaits tied into it and wore a flowing skirt and tie-dye top with multi-coloured bangles up her arm. The ethereally hippy name suited her.

"I'm Rory," she replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear nervously.

"Are rooms already allocated?" Star inquired, peering into the room where Rory had just dumped her stuff.

"No, I just put my things in there to get them out of the way. I think we should probably decide our rooms once our other roommates have arrived."

"Have you seen this view?" Star squealed, skipping to the window. "I just love nature. I wanted to bring Tepee but I wasn't allowed. Tepee's my Llama." She explained, pulling out a photo. "And this is Kinara, my adopted Manatee. Don't you just love animals?"

"Umm…sure."

"Hey! If we're lucky I could try and sneak in a rescued bunny. We could call him Harvey -after Harvard!" Star opened the window. "Look how pretty it all is! And look at the beautiful trees. I bet there are squirrels running free amongst them."

"There are." Rory affirmed, looking slightly panicked. "I saw one when I visited Harvard last."

"Wow. I love Harvard. I love the East Coast! This is going to be so much fun, I know we are going to have the best time as roommates. I can feel it."

"I paid someone five bucks for the use of their wheelbarrow so we don't have to make another trip to the car" Lorelai announced triumphantly outside the door. She peered in. "But we do have to lift all the stuff from the wheelbarrow up two flights of stairs and you can't expect me to do it all by myself – oh, hi."

"Mom, this is my roommate Star" Rory said, giving her a 'don't say anything sarcastic' look.

"Hi Star, great name by the way. I'm Lorelai."

"Hi Lorelai, you have the best name too. It's beautiful, it sounds like a river flowing down the hills."

"Thanks…I think."

A jangling was heard from Star's skirt pocket and she reached pulled out a cell phone. "It's my dad, I should probably go and help him unpack. I'll see you later, ok?" she fluttered out of the room, bangles tinkling.

The two Gilmore's looked at each other, momentarily speechless.

"So, she seems nice." Lorelai said optimistically.

Rory snorted. "Yeah, and completely crazy. She started talking about animals when you were gone. She has a llama, a manatee and wants a bunny to live in the suite!"

"Did you tell her we are not the best people with animals?" Lorelai asked.

"No, she was so excited by them. It would be like kicking Bambi." Rory sighed.

"She's kooky, but she does seem really nice, very…happy. Like she's constantly on Prozac or something." Lorelai commented mischievously.

Rory giggled. "I'll take it. She looks like she's going to be fun. It will be interesting to say the least."

* * *

An hour later, after they had unloaded and unpacked all of Rory's stuff, the rest of Rory's roommates had arrived, who seemed a bit more normal than Star. Maia had coffee - coloured skin, dark curly hair, a beautiful smile, and seemed to be obsessed with old movies, evident by the boxes of black and white DVD's she was unpacking. Jaime was petite with freckles, brown hair and chattered incessantly from the moment she stepped foot inside the door.

"I've got five coffees, a bag of cookies, and I took the liberty of driving out to get us some pizza." Lorelai called, barging into the room, hands full of pizza. The four girls were sitting around on the mismatch of chairs in the common room. Lorelai flopped to the floor, dumping the food on the ground as Rory hastily took the coffees.

"This is great, Lorelai." Maia smiled as she took a slice of pizza. "It's the perfect way to spend the first day at Harvard."

"Agreed." Jaime said, sipping her coffee. "My Mom would have never done anything so cool."

"Awww, you girls are gonna get me all flushin' and blushin'" Lorelai crowed in a Southern belle accent. She got to her feet reluctantly. "Actually, I've got to go. I want to get back home before midnight, hopefully. See you girls, it was great meeting you."

Rory followed her out and they lingered in the hall silently, watching all the college kids talking and unloading things. Everyone so excited about getting away from home and starting their new lives of independence.

"So," Lorelai smiled finally. "I guess this is goodbye."

"Yeah." Rory replied quietly. She flung herself into her mother's arms and buried her head in Lorelai's shoulder. "I'm going to miss you so much." She choked, voice muffled.

"Well don't get too used to college life without me, coz I will be visiting. A lot. In fact, why don't you just kick out one of your roommates and keep a bed spare for me." Lorelai joked, attempting to lighten the room. "Hey." She said gently, lifting Rory's head of her shoulder and noticing her damp eyes. "It's going to be fine. It will feel like no time until we see each other again, ok?"

"Ok." Rory sniffed. "I love you Mom."

"I love you too babe."

They hugged tightly one last time and Lorelai turned to go.

"Go back in there and try to enjoy yourself. Get into a discussion about Einstein's theory of Relativity or George Orwell's books or something. Remember hon, you're at Harvard now, so you've got to appear smart or the nerds will laugh at you. And no one wants to be laughed at by a nerd. So shoo." She scolded. She gave her a big smile and walked away down the hall.

Rory stood there for a moment, staring after Lorelai longingly. Then she wiped her eyes, straightened up and walked back inside her suite. The girls had moved on to the cookies now and were giggling and chattering like old friends.

"Hey Rory, do you know anything about Jane Eyre?" Jaime asked. "Because we were discussing Bertha Mason: crazy wife in the attic used solely as a way to foil Jane and Rochester's romance, or oppressed and forced to become mad, because she was a strong, independent woman and therefore a threat to the patriarchal society of the time?"

"A good question. Pass me a cookie and I'll answer." Rory said happily, settling down onto the sofa.

This was what it was all about, this is what she had worked so hard to get for all those years. She was here, she was at her perfect college intelligently discussing books with those who were equally as interested. This is where she belonged.


	2. The College Experience

**Title:** Harvard Bound

**Disclaimer:** If it were mine, nothing would have happened between Dean and Rory in Season 4

**A/N:** A few people asked me who Rory would end up with. Answer: I don't know as of yet. I might have her with more than one person, I might do a love triange - I haven't decided. I do know that some recognisable faces will be appearing though! It's fairly hard for me to write about college because I'm English and our university system is quite different to the American one. I've gathered all my info from Gilmore Girls and other US tv shows (the Harvard site baffled me) so I hope I'm not too far wrong. Thanks for all the reviews and I hope you enjoy the next installment.

ETA: Sorry, I noticed one huge mistake that kinda made a sentence not make sense. So there wan't a new chapter I'm afraid, just an edit.

* * *

Chapter 2: **The College Experience**

* * *

The tinny sound of the Ramones 'Blitzkrieg Bop' filled the bustling quad. Rory Gilmore jammed one hand into her book bag, whilst trying to avoid spilling her coffee and dropping the pile of book tucked under her left arm. 

"Crap." She muttered, as the ringing stopped.

One book under her arm started to slide. She lurched in an unsuccessful attempt to save it and tripped, coffee spilling down her blue sweater. She landed ungracefully on top of the rest of the books. She jumped up quickly, cringing, hoping nobody had noticed her re-enactment of 'Humpty Dumpty'. The phone rang again and she quickly answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, sweets. Something wrong?"

"No." Rory sighed, beginning to gather her books. "Just showing my clumsy side and making a fool of myself in front of the entire campus."

"So, apart from that little display, what else have you been up to?"

"Well, it's shopping week." Rory said, sounding a little brighter.

"Ooh! Get me something! Because I really need some shoes to go with my red top. You know, the one with the v-neck and the sparkles –"

"Not that kind of shopping, Mom." Rory cut in. "I call it shopping week because it's where you get to try out all the classes. It's great! There are so many I want to chose, I'm having trouble deciding."

"That sounds great. I'd prefer if it was actual shopping though."

"It's better than clothes shopping." Rory picked up her half-empty coffee and began to make her way back to her dorm. She heard Lorelai gasp theatrically on the other end of the line.

"Better than clothes shopping? Are you really my daughter? I'm beginning to think that you got switched at the hospital, because no offspring of mine would ever say that sentence."

"Well, you better start searching coz I said it." Rory giggled. "How are things going on the inn?"

"They're good. We still have to iron out a few details before we can properly start work on it, but everything's coming together." Lorelai told her. "Hey, I've got to go and meet Sookie and Michel now. Call me soon?"

"Sure thing. Bye Mom."

Her dorm room was empty which she was thankful for, now she didn't have to have anyone asking her why she was covered in coffee stains. She changed her clothes quickly and settled on the sofa with 'A Tale of Two Cities.' About two minutes later Jaime burst into the room.

"Omigod Rory!" she squealed. "I've just seen the most perfect guy ever!" She flung herself onto the sofa besides Rory. "Tall, with longish dark hair, and so cute. And – get this – he was wearing a Red Hot Chilli Peppers t-shirt. And they're, like, my favourite band ever! He was just coming out of a class – I'm going to have to find out which one so I can find him again. And…" here she paused for dramatic effect, "…he smiled at me!"

Rory rolled her eyes and shut her book as Jaime continued to ramble about this guy. Jamie on a normal day was like Lorelai at her most talkative, with a dash of Lane thrown in. It should have made her comfortable, but it only made her more homesick. She liked college so far, she really liked it, but at the same time she couldn't help missing the familiarity of Stars Hollow. Feeling a pang, she forced herself to concentrate on what Jaime was saying.

"…kinda looks like that guy from the Calvin Klein ad, but without the stubble. Have you got a magazine?"

"Wha-?" Rory asked, coming out of her daze.

"Have you got a magazine?" Jaime repeated. "So I can show you that picture of the Calvin Klein guy."

"Um, I think I might have one, I'll check."

She went into her room, Jaime following, and began to rifle through drawers in her desk. She produced a copy of 'Jane' and handed it to Jaime who began eagerly flipping through. A photo fell out between the pages. Rory bent down and grabbed it, and then stopped, holding it in midair as she gazed at it.

"Here we go. He kinda looks like this guy." Jaime was about to shove the magazine in front of Rory's nose when she noticed Rory staring numbly at the photo. She looked at it curiously. It was a photo of Rory and Jess, arms around each other, making goofy faces at the camera.

"Who's the guy? He's cute. Boyfriend?"

"We, uh, used to date. Until a couple of months ago. I don't know what it's doing here, I must have brought it by mistake." She shoved it hastily in her drawer again.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Jaime sounded sombre for a moment. "Can I borrow this?" she indicated at the magazine. Rory nodded and Jaime wandered out of the room, gazing dreamily at the Calvin Klein guy.

Rory opened her drawer again and sank onto her bed with the photo. Jess. The guy who had left so abruptly without even telling her why, or where he was going. No note, no goodbye, no nothing. Unless you counted the numerous calls where she would pick up to silence on the other end, and then a dialling tone. Why did she still have this photo? She was mad at him, she was so angry at him - when she allowed herself to think of him, that was. She had never felt that way about anyone before. She had only ever kissed two boys in her life - three if you counted Tristan, though that was mainly a rebound kiss – but with Jess she had felt something she had never felt with Dean -passion. Dean had been the perfect boyfriend, he was kind and stable and sweet but Rory had outgrown him. She wouldn't admit that to herself for a long time, she could hardly admit that even now, but deep down she knew it was true. With Jess, it had been something completely different. He challenged her, and excited her. Nothing was ever for certain with Jess. Although, as she discovered when he left, that wasn't always a good thing. She put the photo in the bottom of the drawer, underneath a stack of papers. She would be hard pressed to find that again without a long search. She had to forget him. She would concentrate on her studies, and maybe even date someone else. She couldn't bear the pain that sometimes came at night when she thought about him. She needed him out of her life forever.

* * *

Rory wandered out of her British Literature class a few minutes behind everyone else, mainly to avoid the hustle of the halls but also because she had already started reading the text set – 'Beowulf'. Closing that one and opening her current book, 'Silas Marner', she ambled down the hallway not taking any notice of where she was going. 

"Look out!" somebody yelped, and before she knew it she had run straight into them, the impact of the collision knocking the books out of their hands.

"I'm so sorry." Rory apologised, kneeling down to gather up the fallen texts. That was two falls in the space of two days! College was making her klutzy.

"It's ok," a guys voice assured her.

She looked up from where she had been rapidly clearing books into a mop of curly blonde hair.

"Here." He held out 'Silas Marner' to her, looking at the title with interest. "It's a good book, but I prefer 'Daniel Deronda' myself." Taking his books from Rory, he stood up and cleared the hair out of his eyes. "Are you taking the Russian Literature class?"

"Oh, um, I don't know. I was thinking about it."

"Well, definitely try it. I went to one on Monday and it was great. Next one is on Thursday, I think. That's the awesome thing about try-out week."

"Yeah." Rory smiled.

"Anyway, I've got to get going. See you around – what was your name?"

"Oh, um, Rory."

He grinned. "Nice to meet you Rory. I –" here he indicated to himself with two thumbs, "am Sam."

"Like Sean Penn."

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

He gave her an amused look. "Okay. See you around Rory." He loped off down the hall leaving Rory to stare down at her shoes in embarrassment.

Just before she reached the doors that lead into the courtyard, she noticed a poster pinned on a notice board. 'FRESHMAN WELCOME PARTY' it read. She skimmed the poster and noticed the address on the bottom – 'HOLLIS HALL, FLOORS 2-3.' She stared at it in disbelief, quickly reached into her bag, flicked open her phone and dialled Lorelai's number.

"Hey, talk quick coz Mommy is in Luke's and doesn't want to be tossed out when she has just been given a huge, steaming mug of happiness."

"Mom, there's a party on my floor tomorrow night. A big one by the looks of it."

"Yeah, so?"

"So? Mom…it's a party. With people."

"So I hear." Lorelai replied, a note of bemusement in her voice.

"A loud, noisy party during term time. And it will be right outside my door. Heck, it may even come into my dorm suite." Rory stressed.

"Well, I'm glad to hear Harvard kids know how to party properly. I thought their idea of a party was cracking open a bottle of grape juice and listening to Mozart."

"Mom!" Rory cried impatiently.

"Hon, it's just a party. I think it will be a great way to meet new people." Lorelai soothed her frustrated daughter. "Look, it's up to you if you want to go, but I think you'd really enjoy yourself. It's part of the whole college experience."

"I guess I might go. But what if I see people I, uh, don't really want to see?"

"Honey, you've only been there a week, how many enemies could you have made?"

"Well, what if it's not that I don't want to get to know people, but that I don't want a particular type of person to see me?"

"Did you make a fool of yourself in front of something cute?" Lorelai demanded suspiciously.

"How did you know?" Rory squeaked, accidentally ruining the nonchalant answer she was forming in her mind.

"You are your mother's daughter, that's how."

"Oh, so I'm related to you again, am I?"

"Well, I decided that our similarities are too great for us not to be. Plus, it gives me an excuse to borrow your clothes. Hon, just because you thought you looked stupid in front of a guy is no reason not to attend a party that you will probably remember for the rest of your life."

"That's true." Rory sighed resignedly.

"Uh oh, Luke's coming over and he's looking even more grumpy than usual. Bye."

The phone went dead. Rory snapped it shut and frowned at the poster thoughtfully.

* * *

"Rory? Star? You guys going out to the party?" Maia called, pausing in the front doorway. The half open door let a stream of noisy chatter and very loud thumping music into the suite. 

"In a little while." Rory told her, from her curled up position on the couch.

"I would but I have a SETAN meeting," Star said airily, emerging from the room she shared with Rory.

"A- what meeting?" Maia asked in confusion.

Star sighed. "SETAN meeting. It stands for 'Society for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Nature. While all you guys are polluting the environment with your un -recyclable paper cups, I will be discussing how best to save animals from extinction." She smiled at them merrily. "Have fun!"

Maia raised her eyebrows as Star flew past her out the door and smiled to Rory as she headed for the party. About to continue reading, Rory paused for a moment. Maybe she should go to this party. She could attend for about half an hour – an hour max, have the whole college experience thing, then come back and read. Closing her book she smoothed her clothes, took a deep breath, and went out into the hall. Passing flirting with a guy with long dark hair, and some guys trying to open a beer keg, Rory wandered towards an open suite, keeping an eye out for anyone with curly blonde hair. After chatting to some girls from a philosophy class and listening to yet another debate about war whilst sipping some cheap-tasting beer, Rory decided that she had put up enough of an appearance. She slinked out of the room and back down the hall towards freedom.

"Not running away are you?" A teasing voice asked.

"No." She blushed. "I was just…"

Sam grinned. "Hey, your secret's safe with me. It's a shame though, I was actually looking for you."

"You – you were?" Rory stammered.

"Yeah, I was wondering which classes you've decided."

"Still deciding actually." Rory admitted. "I went to the Russian literature class today though."

"Yeah? You like it?"

"I loved it!"

"Great, what other classes did you go to?"

Sam settled down on the hallway floor, back against the wall and Rory did the same. She didn't notice when the noise level began to diminish or when people gradually started leaving. She didn't notice her roommates go back inside the suite and she didn't notice what time it was. Only when she gave a large yawn did they both realise how late it was and hurriedly said goodbye. Rory slipped quietly into her room, trying not to wake the gently snoring Star. She smiled as she pulled the covers over her head. Maybe college life wouldn't be so bad after all.


	3. Hopes and Disappointments

**Disclaimer:** Doesn't belong to me

**A/N:** I'm so sorry about the long wait. I kind of lost my writing mojo as well as having a lot of work to do so I'm sorry if this chapter sucks. I promise I'll update quicker in the future.

* * *

Chapter 3: **Hopes and Disappointments**

* * *

Rory bit her nails anxiously as she stood outside the door. The door. The door that could possibly decide her future. The door to the Harvard newspaper. In just a few moments she would enter and her initiation to the hallowed ranks of Harvard journalist would begin. If she made it through the rigorous process – being forced to make the most menial pieces sound like an award winning essay – then she would be on her way to becoming Christiane Amanpour. If not, it was bye bye New York Times and hello Stars Hollow Gazette. Taking a deep breath she pushed open the door into the crazy world of the Harvard paper. The room was just as she had imagined a college news room to be, fairly large but so crammed full of desks, computers and filing cabinets that it seemed cramped. A handful of people were in the room already, the ones standing nervously were obviously trying out like her. Rory went to stand near them, leaning awkwardly on a desk. A few more people entered the room, her suitemate Maia one of them. 

"I didn't know you were trying out for the paper. Why didn't you tell me?" Rory whispered as Maia joined her by the desk.

"I wasn't sure if I was going to or not." She murmured back. "My parents helped me make up my mind. Actually, I only really want the Arts beat."

Rory was about to say something else when the door flew open and a girl, a senior, with fiery red hair strode in, banging the door shut loudly behind her.

"May I have your attention please!" she boomed.

Rory jumped, quickly removing herself from the edge of the desk. The girl stood in the middle of the room, gazing around at the candidates through narrowed eyes.

"My name is Amanda Long and I am the editor of the Harvard Crimson. During these next few weeks you will all be put to the test to find out who is in it for the long run, and who will give up at the first hurdle. It will be tough, in fact, most of you will fail."

Her eyes rested momentarily on each person as if she were trying to determine which type they would be. She reminded Rory eerily of an older Paris Gellar.

"Harvard has produced some of the finest figures in American history, from John F. Kennedy to T.S Elliot. We aim to keep up that standard. Some of my staff will hand out your first assignments when they call your name. Good luck and don't let me, or yourselves, down."

With that she gave them a curt nod and marched out of another door. The current members of the paper began to call names, giving them pieces of paper with their assignments written on them. Rory glanced down at hers and inwardly groaned. She was to cover the prices of stores on the Harvard campus. If articles were coffee, hers was half measure of decaf."

"Yippee, I got the caretaker's retirement," said Maia wryly. "You?"

"Campus store prices," Rory replied. "But look on the bright side, if we can make these work we can write anything."

"I guess." Maia looked dubious.

* * *

Rory bit her lip as she made her way back to the dorm. The hopeful words she had spoken did not ring true. This was a boring assignment and there was no possible way she could find a new angle for it. Perhaps she would have found a way to spin it for Chilton's 'Franklin', but this was college, this was Harvard. She would never make it into the 'Crimson'. Lost in thought she wasn't looking where she was going and was about to walk into a lamppost when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way. 

"You trying to make out with a lamppost?" Sam asked, a mischievous grin on his face.

"Wha - what?" Rory stammered in confusion, face burning.

"You walked so close to the lamppost you were nearly embracing it. What's up?"

"Nothing," she sighed, starting to walk again.

He fell into pace beside her. "It's obviously not nothing. You look really preoccupied and you are not usually so clumsy. Well," he paused, thinking back to their first meeting, "Maybe you are. But this is different. This is 'I've-got-something-on-my-mind-and-it's-really-bugging-me' clumsy."

"I just got my first try-out article for the Harvard Crimson," She admitted.

"Aha! And it's a crap piece that you feel that you will never be able to make work."

She looked at him strangely. "Are you sure you're not psychic? Because you always seem to know what I'm thinking about."

He chuckled. "Nah, I'm not that special. You had just been to the paper and you looked bummed. I put two and two together, it doesn't take a genius to work out what's wrong."

"I still say you should go into business. Maybe buy a crystal ball, some Tarot cards…"

"Call myself something like 'Psychic Sam'? I think I'll pass." He grinned at her, and she felt her tummy flutter.

Trying to ignore the acrobatics her insides were doing, she forced herself to focus on what Sam was saying. Something about his politics class…she noticed how his green eyes lit up when he was talking enthusiastically about things he liked, and how a tiny dimple appeared in his left cheek when he smiled. She felt him grab her arm – second time in a day – and she stopped walking, smiling at him beatifically.

"You're really not with it today, are you?" His voice snapped her out of her trance.

"Um, what?"

He grinned at her, trying to hold back a laugh. "This is my room. I think yours is upstairs. Go get some rest, you need it."

"Um, ok. See you later."

She hurried away from him and ploughed upstairs, face burning with embarrassment. She was reverting to the 15 year old Rory who had turned monosyllabic and flustered whenever Dean spoke to her. She was 18, she was an adult. She had survived Chilton, had been Valedictorian, had had two long-term boyfriends and had got into Harvard. She should be able to speak to a cute guy – a friend nonetheless – without becoming a complete airhead. She needed some advice about this. None of her suitemates were in when she entered the dorm so she grabbed her cell and dialled Lorelai but got the answer phone. Next she tried Lane's house only to be told by a stern Mrs Kim that Lane was at college and then would be at Bible study and would have to call her back later, providing it was not past nine. There was only one other person she could think of calling. Taking a deep breath she dialled the number.

"Hello?" The voice answered.

"Hey Paris, it's Rory."

"Rory!" Paris actually sounded happy to hear from her, maybe she had valued their 'friendship' more than she had let on. "How's it going? How's Harvard? You did go to Harvard, didn't you? Because it would be so like you to get into the best school in the world and then give it up for some noble reason."

"I'm at Harvard," Rory reassured her. "How are you and where did you go?"

"I'm at Princeton. I know what you're thinking, and no, I didn't choose to go there because of Jamie. In fact, I was seriously thinking about going to Yale for a while but my life-coach Terrance told me I needed to go further away from home than New Haven. Said I needed to find myself and gain independence and so I decided on Princeton."

"Life – coach?" Rory asked, trying to suppress her scepticism.

"Don't judge," Paris snapped, "he's helped me a lot over the summer. I've come to terms with the fact that Harvard wasn't the school for me and my journey continues with Princeton. And Jamie, I guess. Terrance seemed to put a great importance of being close to my first love."

"Oh. And, uh, how is Jamie?"

"He's fine, I guess. I see him quite a lot even though he is in his third year so he should be concentrating on his studies more than on me, but he just won't take the hint." Paris' voice had a slight edge when she mention her boyfriend. "So, as much as I'm enjoying the small talk, what did you ring me up to ask?"

"Well, um. Since you're the only one of us two who has a boyfriend I thought you might be able to help me."

"You're ringing me up for boy advice?" Paris spluttered. "Can't your Mom help you with that? And Madeline or Louise could have probably helped you more than I can."

"Mom's out, and you know what the other two's advice would have been like. You're sensible and level – headed, I thought you could offer me the most practical suggestions. Please Paris." Rory pleaded.

"Ok," the girl on the other end relented.

"Ok. So I've made friends with this guy and I think I may like him as more than a friend. Thing is, I don't know if he likes me and don't want to ruin the friendship. And I also kind of turn into a bumbling mess whenever he's in the vicinity. Not always, but enough to make me look like a fool."

"My God Gilmore," Paris snorted, "you've got it bad. I say ask him for coffee one evening, it's causal enough for friends but intimate enough for him make a move if he likes you. Dress hot and flirt, but not too much. If he likes you, he'll take it from there. Remember, this doesn't have to be a Romeo-Juliet type relationship."

"Wow, that's great advice Paris. Thanks!" Rory marvelled.

"I know," Paris replied in wonder. "Maybe I've been listening to Louise and Madeline more than I've realised."

They chatted for a little while longer and when Rory hung up she raced to her wardrobe and began picking out possible outfits. College was definitely doing something to Rory, and she wasn't sure if she liked it.

* * *

A few days later was the second meeting for the Harvard Crimson try-outs. Rory had submitted her piece yesterday and was anxious to hear what Amanda though of it. She had managed to make it decent and get a fairly good angle on it, it was not Pulitzer worthy by any stretch of the imagination but it was the best she could do with the material given. 

"Today I'm going to give you feedback for the articles you wrote. Most of them were good." Amanda looked around the room benevolently whilst the freshmen looked at each other happily. She held out a hand. "However, good does not cut it at the Crimson. You want your articles to stand out you have to do whatever it takes to get the readers attention, whether it's the shock factor or just amazing writing. Now I'm going to read out your names and hand you your next assignment. Freeman, Maia."

Beside Rory, Maia jumped. "Yes?" She asked nervously.

"You wrote about Mr. Rudolsky's retirement. Your piece was informative with just the right amount of sentiment and schmaltz. It got a little long-winded when you were talking about his history with Harvard, try to make it a bit more snappy next time. But overall, a very good job. You can go" A guy handed her a piece of paper and Maia scuttled off looking pleased.

"Lebowitz, Isaac. You wrote about the Science Department's new 100,000 dollars worth of equipment…"

She read out name after name, praising and criticising until at last she got to Rory.

"Gilmore, Rory. You wrote about store prices on campus. It was well-researched, informative and you have an excellent writing style. But," she paused, just as Rory was beginning to relax in relief. "It was bland."

"Bland?" Rory squeaked. "How?"

"You got the angle but I didn't see any of you in the article."

"But I'm a reporter, I'm meant to be objective. Surely the angle got across what I was trying to say?"

"All the information was there but it felt impersonal. You could have been anyone writing. Nothing stood out for me that would tell me 'this is Rory Gilmore writing'. You have great potential but if you want to be a great journalist you have to find yourself and write what you think, rather than what people want to hear. Here is your next assignment, you can go."

Clutching the piece of paper, Rory wandered numbly out of the room. Bland? Impersonal? She kept mulling over what Amanda had said, trying to make sense of it as she mad her way back to her dorm. She felt deflated. Turning the corner she saw Sam and was about to go over to him when she noticed he wasn't alone. His arm was around a petite blonde and they were laughing and talking, wrapped up in their own world. She sank down onto a bench as Sam kissed the girl and the couple went into the nearby building. Rory wrapped her arms around herself and she stared at the floor, not allowing herself to cry. For the first time since she had gone to college, she wished she was anywhere but Harvard. She wanted to be in Stars Hollow with Lorelai, watching a movie or perhaps at Luke's. Somewhere safe and familiar where there was nothing to crush her. Lorelai would have immediately given her pizza and chocolate and a pep talk about how great she was and Rory would have gone to sleep that night feeling loved and supported with hope in her heart. Except she was here, alone, having to face all these things by herself. She wanted to be an adult but she wasn't sure if she was ready to face the harsh reality that adulthood brought.


End file.
